The announcement by Portugal’s Prime Minister at the COP22 conference in Marrakesh* has gained the full support of the environment group ZERO which calls for his commitment to translate into actions to be defined and implemented right now, including a parliamentary pact on climate policy.
ZERO believes that today, the Prime Minister of Portugal, in his afternoon speech at the COP22 in Marrakesh, has made the most important announcement so far on climate change.
PM António Costa now seems fully in accord with ZERO’s key aim when he stated that, "Portugal reaffirms its firm commitment to be neutral in terms of greenhouse gas emissions by the end of the first half of this century."
ZERO calls for more though and says that Portugal should be more ambitious in its targets to 2030 and during 2017, should make a plan for the various sectors of society to achieve the goal of neutral balance of emissions by 2050.
It is necessary to focus on renewable energies, energy efficiency, public transport, electric mobility, and a sustainable forest strategy, says the environmental group.
In this context, and following the general understanding that emerged in the extensive meeting that ZERO held yesterday with Members of the Committee on the Environment, the association calls for a parliamentary pact on climate policy to 2050.
ZERO said it welcomes the fact that Portugal was represented today in the high-level segment of the 22nd Conference of the UN Convention on Climate Change. The EU was represented by the President of France in a session this morning and in the afternoon session, by Portugal and Spain.
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* The twenty-second session of the Conference of the Parties (COP 22) and the twelfth session of the Conference of the Parties serving as the meeting of the Parties to the Kyoto Protocol (CMP 12) is being held in Bab Ighli, Marrakesh, Morocco from 7-18 November 2016.
On 5 October 2016, the threshold for entry into force of the Paris Agreement was achieved. The Paris Agreement entered into force on 4 November 2016. As a result, the first session of the Conference of the Parties serving as the meeting of the Parties to the Paris Agreement (CMA 1) is taking place in Marrakesh in conjunction with COP 22 and CMP 12.
See: http://unfccc.int/meetings/marrakech_nov_2016/meeting/9567.php
